We know nothing about wine, despite belonging to a wine club (which, honestly, we only do because it FORCES us to make a quarterly trip up the coast for the pick up and we like that). For the wedding, I needed wine that was no more than $6 a bottle and that didn't taste like vinegar with a side of dirt.
We did this by going to Whole Foods* and scouring their $10.99 or less section. We picked up a few bottles of different varietals that fit in our budget. We went home and sliced some bread and cheese, turned on The Decemberists and started drinking. It only took a single sipping round to determine our favorite, but we had multiple refills of each. You know, to give all of them a fair shot. Riiiiight.
We're going with a Malbec that is slightly over budget but worth it and a Sauvignon Blanc that is almost indecently cheap (but it's actually what I stock for myself at home, so I'm not worried about it). My palate might not be the most refined, but there will be red and white wine available** that I would happily drink myself and that's good enough.
* Whole Foods has a reputation for being pricey but they're actually great for large quantities of wine because they give you a case discount of 20%. We compared prices at a couple of stores but most of the time that discount took them down below Trader Joe's or Costco. AND, if the wine is on sale, the case discount normally still applies. I got my favorite sparkling wine for 40% off retail when they had a sale a few months back.
** Along with margaritas and really good beer. We aren't bothering with a full bar - if guests have very particular alcohol needs, they are welcome to bring along flasks and I will be totally impressed by their sheer awesomeness and self reliance.
{wine tasting}
We did this by going to Whole Foods* and scouring their $10.99 or less section. We picked up a few bottles of different varietals that fit in our budget. We went home and sliced some bread and cheese, turned on The Decemberists and started drinking. It only took a single sipping round to determine our favorite, but we had multiple refills of each. You know, to give all of them a fair shot. Riiiiight.
We're going with a Malbec that is slightly over budget but worth it and a Sauvignon Blanc that is almost indecently cheap (but it's actually what I stock for myself at home, so I'm not worried about it). My palate might not be the most refined, but there will be red and white wine available** that I would happily drink myself and that's good enough.
* Whole Foods has a reputation for being pricey but they're actually great for large quantities of wine because they give you a case discount of 20%. We compared prices at a couple of stores but most of the time that discount took them down below Trader Joe's or Costco. AND, if the wine is on sale, the case discount normally still applies. I got my favorite sparkling wine for 40% off retail when they had a sale a few months back.
** Along with margaritas and really good beer. We aren't bothering with a full bar - if guests have very particular alcohol needs, they are welcome to bring along flasks and I will be totally impressed by their sheer awesomeness and self reliance.
Great plan I love this!
ReplyDeleteLove this idea! What a great excuse to have a wine filled evening. It's so much more personal too that you picked it out yourself.
ReplyDeleteMmm, I LOVE that Alamos Malbec, is that what you're going with? It looks like the second bottle from the left is also a Malbec. When my husband and I were picking wines for our wedding, we got a mixed case from a local fine grocery store and invited 5 or 6 friends over to help us taste ALL of them. (We combined it with sort of a going away party for another friend of ours who was leaving as well.) It was great fun, and it helped us a lot to get a wide variety of responses to the wine. Luckily, our friends' tastes were pretty much in line with ours, but it was nice to have that confirmation that we weren't just picking wines that only we dug.
ReplyDeletewhy oh why can't they sell wine in grocery stores in ny?! this looks like the best part of wedding planning!
ReplyDeletei love buying wine at whole foods. my husband refuses to buy the bottles that are over $10 there. they have SO many options that are affordable!
ReplyDeleteat our wedding, we chose a red called Hook + Ladder. i think it was on the cheaper side of town and was deeelish. good luck!
is it the Alamos malbec? We love that one.
ReplyDeleteMalbec is my favorite; it's bold and flavorful ... and fairly inexpensive. Good call! xo.
ReplyDeleteI like your method of wine tasting...It sounds very low pressure, which is awesome. We kept our booze options minimal at our tiny wedding, which worked because my whole family likes cheap champagne and we bought a few 6 packs of beer for those that preferred it. I think I'd do what you're doing if we had had a bigger wedding. Choices, but not too many.
ReplyDeleteWe did the same thing: wine, really good beer, and one additional option. Instead of margaritas we had pink lemonade with vodka. We, too, told folks to make their own arrangements if the offerings didn't suffice; I don't think anyone did.
ReplyDeleteWhole Foods in Seattle sells a wine called Wish (I think) which isn't too bad and it's less than $5.
ReplyDelete20% case discount? I had no idea! That's amazing!
ReplyDelete@ Kate and JW - YES! We did pick the Alamos Malbec. I was worried that it might be a little strong for our dinner, but we decided we liked it enough that it would be just fine. It isn't overwhelming. So glad you guys like it too!
ReplyDelete@ Kate - We would have done that, had we planned ahead better. We ended up doing this on a whim (I mean, we knew we needed to do it, but it just sort of happened that evening with no prior planning). Having friends over would have been great! (Although I ended up really liking it as a sort of long, silly evening between the two of us)
I read your post this morning on my Reader, and ever since have been looking forward to coming home from work, listening to The Decemberists, and drinking wine. (Sadly, just by myself, so I probably won't be going through four bottles, haha!)
ReplyDeleteAnyway, huge congrats on picking your beverage list! And for so cheap!
And of course, congrats on the upcoming wedding--so exciting!
if you have a bevmo (or if price is right online with shipping) they are having a 5cent sale right now! you should check it out!
ReplyDeleteWe were really lucky to be good friends with the tasting room manager at winery to remain nameless that is up in the Central Coast. We got all of our wine (our favorite red and white) for 50% off. We also got a keg of my favorite pennsylvania beer (Yuengling... it's amazing and cheap if you ever have the chance to try it). We felt the same way, that people could bring flasks if need be. As it turns out, we ran out of wine b/c people loved the wine we served so much and had to send bridal party out to get yellowtail to substitute when we ran out!
ReplyDeleteYour wedding seriously sounds like it's going to be such a good time. And I absolutely love that you have such an open door policy to your friends/family about flasks! Fab. :)
ReplyDeleteWhole Foods is bloody marvellous isn't it? I love the Alamos Malbec. And now, despite it being before 10am, I have the strongest urge to slice cheese and bread and guzzle bottles of wine. It's Friday though, so it's fine, isn't it?
ReplyDeletei love your method of choosing! im totally going to use it for my wedding too. it puts the fun back into something that should be fun! (im guessing you have encountered the fact that some seemingly fun parts of wedding planning can be stressful! lol its not just me right?) anyway that looks delicious and a fun way to spend an afternoon. and thanks for the whole foods tip, i had no idea!
ReplyDeletewe always buy yellow tail ~ one because it's affordable and two because it tastes pretty good to me. . . vinegar w. a side of dirt? haha, that's hilarious and kinda true actually. . .
ReplyDeletexx
so smart to have a byob (or alcohol) to the festivities. thanks for the wine buying tip @ whole foods! good to know :)
ReplyDeleteI love this! I am editing a blog post similar to this one right now! Whole Foods wine is amazing, and they have a great selection at an affordable price! I just began following you, and absolutely love your blog!
ReplyDeleteSamantha
http://petitefemmejolie.blogspot.com
Wine, cheese, AND The Decemberists? How could an evening get any better!
ReplyDeleteYUM! Great photo, great tip on the prices at WF and lovely post!!! Wine is the ONE THING I miss while being pregnant. It will be so nice to have a glass of wine again...:) Happy wedding wine drinking to you! xo
ReplyDeleteWhich Sauvignon Blanc did you decide on? My fiance and I are in the middle of picking out wines for our wedding!
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